—Four Days Ago—
Right after rendering Emilia unconscious—
"Huu…" Ace stood still, Emilia resting in his arms as he then lifted her up princess carry.
His eye remained glued onto her sleeping face before drifting towards her lips, lingering on them longer than he should have.
"…Focus," he told himself, shaking off the thought as he then led her back to her room.
Just as he gently laid her onto the bed and covered her with the duvet—
"My, you certainly are quite tender with her, master Ace."
"!?" Ace immediately shot his eyes backwards, gaze falling upon a certain blue-haired girl in a maid outfit. "Who are you? How did you get in here?"
'I didn't sense her entering, so how?' Ace questioned as his guarded eyes never broke off from Francesca.
"There's no need to be on guard. It is none other than the late Master Magus, Hugo Hendrickson who sent me towards you, master Ace. My orders were to assist you after you emerged from your coma."
Francesca offered an elegant bow.
"My name is Francesca. At your service."
"…" Ace studied her for a long moment before relaxing.
"So the old man dies, and someone else replaces him, hm?" Ace stared at Francesca intently. "Then tell me. What's your relationship with the old man? And why…"
Ace's eyes focused on an imperceptible aura surrounding Francesca's body.
"Why is your presence so familiar to the old man's?"
Francesca remained silent before letting out a short breath.
"As expected of you, you noticed. I suppose it is no surprise. Grandfather had told me that dealing with you would prove troublesome."
"Dropped the polite tone, have we?" Ace tilted his head, his eyes becoming sharper. "I wasn't aware the old man even had family in the first place."
"It's not surprising since I was born in a rather unconventional way. Something you could probably relate to, no, master Ace?"
Ace and Francesca stared at each other in tense silence. Each studying the other's intentions.
"Haa…" Ace relaxed and turned away from Francesca and focused on the sleeping Emilia.
His hand palmed her cheek as he looked at her face with unusual softness, Francesca bearing witness to the scene.
"And here I thought I'd see Grandfather be in the wrong, but it would seem even his gamble ended in victory," the words escaped Francesca, immediately attracting Ace's attention.
"I don't know what the old man had planned, but sorry, I'm not playing his game anymore. He's dead after all."
"Yes, you're right. Grandfather, or rather, my master and creator, Hugo Hendrickson has died. And soon, I will probably also disappear."
"Magic?" Ace inquired, moving towards Francesca and standing behind her.
"An accurate assumption. A secret spell no other Realizer has ever achieved in Elderngard. An autonomous familiar created through a combination of multiple magical attributes by using blood as a medium. A golem of sorts."
"I see," Ace's reaction was underwhelming as usual. "Well, I don't care who you are or what you plan on doing from now on."
"I've only got one request. Take care of Emilia. And when she wakes up… Well, I guess we'll find out when that happens."
Before Ace could put a step before the other—
"Are you sure of what you're doing right now? Leaving her behind like this?" Francesca didn't bother looking back at Ace when she asked.
"I don't know," Ace's answer came so fast that Francesca's eyes slightly widened in surprise.
"Eh?" She immediately turned to look back at Ace. "Are you serious right now?"
"Yeah, I am. At least I know this. What I'm doing is wrong. But unfortunately for Emi, I don't think I'm sentimental or human enough to make the right decisions yet. If she comes after me, I'll accept it. If she strikes me, I won't resist. I'll accept her judgement whatever it is. After all…"
Ace turned back his head towards Francesca, the young maid becoming stunned in surprise at the sight of the young man's expression.
"I've got enough common sense to know that I'm just running away from her," Ace had a simple small smile on his face. "It's as simple as that."
With those words had left the room in pursuit of the enemy he was targeting, leaving Emilia behind.
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—In the present—
'In the end, she came, huh?' Ace remained completely still as Emilia stood before him.
But in reality, it was less that he couldn't move, and more he wouldn't move.
'Guess it's time to face the music,' Ace held his head down, unable to look at Emilia's face.
"I finally found you… Ace."
At the sound of her voice, Ace's fingers immediately twitched. But that was not what had him more undone.
'…!' His body tensed up as he felt the cool touch of Emilia's hands cupping his face.
Emilia's transformation immediately faded as her appearance reverted back to its usual state.
'Ahh… I knew it. Right now, all the will inside my body has completely faded. I've completely surrendered to her. But strangely enough, it doesn't feel as bad as I thought it would. In fact, it feels nice. Heh. Something's definitely wrong with me to feel like this. Especially after everything I put her through.'
"Why?" Emilia's voice pulled Ace out of his thoughts, her hands lifting Ace his face until his eyes locked onto her face. "Look at me, Ace."
"Tell me why you're doing all this. What gives you the right to push me away like that? Especially after everything we've been through. Everything you did."
Emilia's hands fell to the front of his shirt, gripping the fabric tightly with whitened knuckles as she then pressed her forehead against his chest, her body leaving no space left with Ace's.
Her hands trembled with frustration and anger as one hand released its grip, clenching into a fist as she started hitting Ace's chest repeatedly.
The fist hit softly. Not hard enough to hurt, but as Ace looked down at Emilia's form pressed against him, the emotions behind it were like a hammer striking a painful nail within him.
"I'm tired of it. I'm tired of being the one who always feels powerless. I'm tired of being the one always chasing after. Always trying to understand. Always being left with no other choice. I've had it, you hear me!"
"…" Ace simply remained silent and unmoving, but it was clear Emilia's words were genuinely having an effect.
Tears were streaming down her face while her voice hitched through her breaths. But even then…
Her head shot upwards, her eyes locking onto Ace's filled with anger and something else. Something much deeper. Something much stronger.
Ace's eyes widened feeling a throbbing feeling pulsing in his chest.
"I'm sorry," Ace immediately embraced Emilia tightly, his expression dumbstruck and in distress. "I was wrong. I'm sorry."
'I… I didn't expect this. What is this? What is this feeling? I… don't understand…'